Roots Tech 2015 Second Day – Laura Bush

The scene at the Salt Palace on the morning of February 13, 2015 was a little different than I had been expecting. The security seemed a little tighter. The crowd was enormous. Yet there I was in line trying to get my badge so that I could enter the conference hall with the thousands that were there to hear former First Lady Laura Bush. I have heard many great speakers in my lifetime, but this was an emotionally moving speech.

Great ideas I learned from former First Lady Laura Bush:

Every child should know how to read

Savor the moments with your children. They are the best of times.

The White House is a National Park

Know who you are

Spend time with your family

Always put family first

There were many other stories and lessons to be taught. What I loved most was the way that I felt as Laura Bush spoke. I was filled with love for my own family, my children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and so many more relatives living and passed on.

When her daughter Jenna Hager came on stage with Mrs. Bush, I was pleasantly surprised to see the comfortable relationship they had even in front of a large audience. I will have to disagree on one point. Jenna asked her mother what it was like to be grandmother to the best baby in America. Being the grandmother to the best grandchildren, I am not sure how she would know. That being said, I could see that this mother and daughter had a great relationship which emphasized Laura Bush’s theme of family first.

Families are important. They are the most important thing in our lives. At the Roots Tech Conference there are thousands of people attending because of their love of family and keeping family stories alive from the past.